New York Lagging In Organ Donor Registration While Need Remains High

More New Yorkers than ever before are signing up to be organ donors, but the state still lags the nation when it comes to the percentage of adults in the donor registry. That’s according to a recent study by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

At the same time, the need for organ and tissue donors in New York remains among the highest in the country.

“New York state’s 35 percent participation rate is the second-lowest donor registration rate among the 50 states,” said Richard Lockwood, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “Yet, the need for organs in New York state is third-highest among the 50 states, with 9,500 individuals currently on the transplant waiting list.”

Only California and Texas have more people waiting for organ transplants than in New York.

Nationwide, 58 percent of adults are registered organ donors, and 113,000 Americans are on the waiting list for an organ transplant.

The upstate New York region, with 47 percent of adults registered as organ and tissue donors, performs better than the state as a whole.

In the Central New York region, 48 percent of adults are registered organ and tissue donors.

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